THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Gas and grocery taxes...More Bears drama...Biden does a Chicago cash haul
June 29, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
We’re recording a new podcast today and will be trying to get back into the groove of a weekly show this summer. We’ll post the video version on our YouTube channel (subscribe!) You can subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, or Amazon. Paid subscribers will get it first tomorrow, the rest of y’all get it first thing Saturday. That’s a good reason to join us as a paid subscriber, isn’t it?
The legislature is still (thankfully) out. There’s nothing on the Governor’s public schedule today.
Drop me a note and tell me what’s on your mind. You can reach me anytime at patrick@theillinoize.com.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets, because good journalism isn’t free)
1% grocery tax to resume, gas tax to increase as new fiscal year begins July 1 (Capitol News Illinois)
A new state fiscal year will begin July 1, ushering in the reinstatement of a 1 percent tax on groceries and a second increase to the state’s motor fuel tax in 2023.
Amid record-high inflation last spring, the General Assembly temporarily waived Illinois’ grocery tax for the coming fiscal year and delayed the annual increase in the state’s motor fuel tax for six months. Democrats introduced both those measures as part of a larger tax relief package that drew criticisms for its proximity to the November general election.
“What we did last year was a temporary measure because we had very high inflation,” Pritzker said when asked at an unrelated news conference Tuesday whether the changes were election-related. “Inflation, you may notice, has come down.”
Inflation was approaching 9 percent when the tax relief plan passed last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but it was 4 percent last month when the fiscal year 2024 was budget passed.
The Pritzker administration estimated at the time the temporary pause on the grocery tax would cost the state $400 million. Most grocery tax revenues are distributed to local governments, so last year lawmakers directed state general revenue funds to reimburse local governments for any financial hit they would have taken due to the pause.
“I would like very much to eliminate entirely the grocery tax, but it is a matter of local governments and what they would do if they didn't have that income as a result of the grocery tax,” Pritzker said, faulting Republicans for “complaining” about the tax being reimposed without offering revenue alternatives.
The motor fuel tax on gasoline, gasohol and compressed natural gas, meanwhile, will increase by 3.1 cents on July 1, to 45.4 cents per gallon. The tax rate for diesel fuel will also increase by 3.1 cents, to 52.9 cents per gallon.
The automatic increase in the fuel tax at the beginning of the new fiscal year is an annual process that became law in 2019 with bipartisan support. Lawmakers doubled the motor fuel tax and indexed it to increase at the rate of the federal government’s Consumer Price Index each year.
The motor fuel tax revenue, combined with one-time increases to license and registration fees that took effect in 2020, provided the funding backbone of the state’s $33.2 billion six-year infrastructure plan for road and bridge upkeep, dubbed Rebuild Illinois.
Related: Opinion: Have you felt relief from grocery tax suspension? (Shaw Media)
Field of Bears suitors grows to five: Aurora joins rush to lure team with new stadium (Chicago Sun-Times)
Another suburban player has joined the blitz to land a new stadium for the Chicago Bears.
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin sent a “letter of interest” this week inviting team president Kevin Warren to consider Illinois’ second-largest city as a destination for the multibillion-dollar dome of their dreams, as the Bears field alternate options during a property tax stalemate over their freshly purchased land in Arlington Heights.
“The opportunity to partner with the historic Chicago Bears as you search for the perfect new home is one we are eager to take on,” Irvin wrote in the two-page letter, portions of which were released by Aurora officials late Tuesday. “Welcoming a historic organization such as the Chicago Bears would enhance our bold vision for Aurora and will provide the Chicago Bears with a new home to begin the next phase of your storied history.”
Irvin — who last year was considered a serious contender against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reelection bid but finished a distant third in the Republican primary — noted his city’s easy access off Interstate 88 and Metra’s BNSF line as part of “the exciting opportunity Aurora can bring to the world-famous Chicago Bears.”
A spokesman for the suburb said team representatives “responded quickly and positively” to Aurora’s entreaty.
Hey, look, another thing Richard Irvin can finish third at.
Related: Aurora mayor invites Chicago Bears to relocate stadium to suburb with 2-page letter (Aurora Beacon-News)
Aurora joins others suburbs trying to lure Bears from Chicago (Daily Herald)
Bears President Kevin Warren says Chicago Bears seek ‘legitimate partner’ in picking site for new stadium. Would that be Arlington Heights? Maybe. (Chicago Tribune)
Fearing effect on downtown Arlington Heights, not all businesses welcoming Bears to town (Daily Herald)
Biden nets more than $1M at pair of Loop fundraisers (Crain’s Chicago Business)
President Joe Biden came to Chicago [Wednesday] not only to give a big speech about the economy. He also was on a mission to do something else that's equally important to his re-election prospects: collect campaign cash. And on that count, he appears to have been quite successful.
Biden was feted at two events, both at the JW Marriott in the financial district, but with different sponsors — Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois trial lawyers.
The Pritzker event was a luncheon attended by about 200 politicos and financial backers, and I'm told it raised more than $1 million, with proceeds split among Biden's re-election committee and other Democratic Party organizations.
The second fundraiser was a smaller event thrown by trial lawyers, including Joe Power, Robert Clifford and Pat Salvi. Power told the Chicago Sun-Times that about 30 people were expected, with a donation of $3,300 "encouraged."
In true Chicago tradition, "welcoming" Biden outside the front of the hotel were protesters on both sides of the partisan aisle, with environmental activists urging him to ban the use of carbon-based fuels, and anti-abortion activists holding posters of fetuses. Biden probably saw none of them, as he was whisked into the hotel via another door.
Related: In Chicago visit, Biden heaps praise on Pritzker, touts economic recovery ahead of 2024 (Capitol News Illinois)
With ‘Bidenomics,’ President Biden aims for middle-class voters as he discusses economy during Chicago address (Chicago Tribune)
What is Bidenomics? The White House’s new ‘word of the year’ (Chicago Sun-Times)
SOME TOP LINKS FROM THE WEEK SO FAR
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Biden picks April Perry as new U.S. attorney here, the first woman to get the nod (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Biden will nominate April Perry to become Chicago’s first female U.S. attorney (Chicago Sun-Times)
Pritzker signs bills altering Illinois’ health insurance market (Capitol News Illinois)
Chicago’s cost to care for migrants arriving since August tops $100 million (Chicago Tribune)
Abortion bans are fueling a rise in high-risk patients heading to Chicago hospitals (WBEZ)
Could Rockford be the next Illinois city to make big train news? (Rockford Register Star)
Justice Holder White announces run for full-term on state's highest court (State Journal-Register)
Lisa Holder White announces run for full term on Illinois Supreme Court (Bloomington Pantagraph)
In year since defeat in GOP primary for governor, Richard Irvin embracing role as Aurora mayor (Aurora Beacon-News)
Bob Berlin to seek fourth elected term as DuPage County state’s attorney in GOP primary next year (Naperville Sun)
Partisan gap is so wide the U.S. could become ungovernable, Rep. Quigley says (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Editorial: Jim Crown’s loss is another cruel blow for the city’s efforts against gun violence (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Pritzker gives as good as he gets in political slug fests (Champaign News-Gazette)
Editorial: Pension fund news sticks taxpayers with added costs of state's previous bad management (Daily Herald)
Opinion: Lawmakers must invest in communities to curb summer gun violence (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Opinion: Here’s why an elected school board spells trouble for Chicago (Chicago Tribune)
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